WgCdr (Retd)
Mahesh Chander Sudan
We, the people of India, have recently started analyzing the role of Media in creating public opinion towards the quality governance that at times lacks righteousness and ethics. The responsible journalism through Press, Television, Internet and other sources of Media is expected to be free and fair for providing right information to both rulers and the ruled. A balanced state control over the freedom of media and absolute professionalism with autonomous regulatory allows free and fair media to flourish. The fourth estate of democracy plays a critical role in establishing sound contact between people and the government. It provides twin platform for government to convey her welfare schemes to the affected people and educate them to avail these schemes in desired manner. It enables feedback from the people for improvising these schemes to achieve targeted results. Media also provides an avenue to the people for exercising their fundamental right to speech and expression as guaranteed in Article 19 (1) (a) of the Indian Constitution. It is indeed an accepted fact that Media plays a pivotal role in the growth of democracy and free and fair media becomes life line of any Government. Mr. Thomas Jefferson rightly remarked, “If it were left on me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the later”.
Indian society is an accepted democracy where the media plays vital role in framing public opinion about Government. The last few years witnessed an enhanced interface between the media and common man. The print and electronic media has become inseparable part of the life of the people who are largely dependent on media for entertainment and information. Media keeps the people awakened and there is no denying the fact that it has become an effective instrument for social change. The rising dependence of people on media makes it more imperative for involved agencies to ensure free and fair status of Indian Media and any deviation either by government or by the autonomous bodies responsible for regulating and controlling the media acts as impediment in the growth of Indian Democracy. The media should be allowed to work as watchdog of the Government keeping people informed of day to day happening around them. Media is an effective tool in the hands of government to reach large number of people to inform them about the functioning of the government and invite interactive participation of the masses to frame people friendly policies for their betterment. However, in the recent past it is seen that advent of social media allowed state and non-state actors to hijack media and started using it for malicious purposes. It so infers that the free and fair character of Media could be ensured jointly by the government and the media itself. Any undesired intervention of the government in day to day functioning of the media directly or indirectly hurts freedom of the media that indicates lack of trust between two important pillars of the democracy. According to Alec Charles edited Media/Democracy, “It is not the press or television or the internet or even democracy itself that is good or bad. It is what we do with them that make them so”.
As it stands Media in India is evolving in shape and size with more and more corporate houses gaining control over it not only for financial attraction but to effectively control an instrument that can help them in twisting arms of the government to enlarge the scope of their business empire almost in a monopolized manner. There are few glaring cases requiring no specific mention. Today, we are facing issues of fake news especially through social media platforms. This indicates absence of fairness in reporting, and irresponsible behavior of the media professionals. Recent ranking of India in freedom of press index 2020 by Reporters without Borders, where we stand 142 out of 180 countries, speaks low about our sliding performance for four consecutive years and one of the reasons was biggest electronic curfew imposed in the valley where around 8 million people were denied internet access. Recent killing of journalists, repeated internet shutdowns in 2019, banning of News channel and other selective restrictions in advertisements and targeting few journalists hurt the image of our media internationally. Media plays a very important role in shaping mind of the people. As regards constitutional guarantee of freedom to Media, it has not been expressively mentioned in Article 19 (1) (a) of the Indian Constitution. However, Supreme Court of India through various decisions conformed that the freedom of press is implicit in freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed under Article 19 (1( (a) of the constitution. Dr. BR Ambedkar, Chairman of drafting committee explained, “The press is merely another way of stating an individual or a citizen. The press has no special rights which are not to be given or which are not to be exercised by the citizen in individual capacity. The editor of press or the manager is all citizens therefore, when they choose to write in newspaper, they are merely exercising their right of freedom of speech and expression. Therefore, in my judgement, no special mention is necessary to the freedom of press at all”.
In the given scenario where media gains constitutional strength out of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (a) of Indian Constitution, it is incumbent on the part of Government and media professionals/owners to remain within laid down limits and do not indulge in undesired restrictions and excessive desire for monetary gains thereby compromising with fundamental right of common citizens with an aim to achieve political ends. It calls for fair dealing on the part of government leaving regulation of media with autonomous bodies like Prasar Bharti established under Prasar Bharti Act 1990 and Press Council of India that operates under Press Council Act of 1978. Let the fourth pillar of democracy, as originally used by Edmund Burke in a parliamentary debate in 1787 on the opening up of Press reporting of the House of Commons of Great Britain, function like other three pillar of democracy namely the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. Indian Media is really passing through a testing time and needs to regain its expected stature of Conscious keeper, watchdog of the functionaries of society and should attempt to attend the wrongs in our system by bringing them to the knowledge of all hoping for correction.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.
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